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made up of families, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for kids – and mums and dads – to make friends, and no concerns about other guests tutting at over-excited youngsters. For these reasons, it can be
worth seeking out trips that are specifically designed for families, rather than sending them on a general group tour that visits the destination they want to see. Several escorted tour operators, and active and adventure travel specialists, have programmes of family tours. Frequently, firms will specify a minimum age, so you’ll know that kids aren’t destined to be overwhelmed with too much or the wrong kind of activity. And many now also offer teen-specific departures of some tours, which can reduce the chance of moody youngsters whingeing about being stuck with babies on their holiday. Here’s a selection of 10 inspiring trips, with short and long-haul choices, and options for families with kids of different ages.
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WILD WEST Wannabe cowboys big and small can live out their fantasies with Virgin
Holidays Worldwide Journeys. Three nights on its USA Family Adventure tour are spent sleeping in cowboy wagons at the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort, and families can saddle up for a ride on one day of their stay. They’ll get
the flipside of their ‘cowboys and indians’ focus in Antelope Canyon, where they can take a tour with a Native American Navajo guide. The rest of the trip is an American Dream too, camping among Yosemite’s towering sequoias, rafting on the Colorado River and visiting the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Groups have a maximum of 14 people, and the minimum age is eight. Book it: Virgin Holidays Worldwide Journeys’ 16-day USA Family Adventure starts at £2,745 for adults and £2,295 for children, including flights and some meals.
virginholidays.co.uk
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travelweekly.co.uk — 12 March 2015
ROMAN HOLIDAY Kids who are studying Ancient Rome at school – and parents who enjoyed
Russell Crowe playing Maximus – will love Trafalgar’s Gladiators, Gondolas and Gold trip, part of the operator’s Family Experience range. They’ll get to attend ‘gladiator school’ in Rome and learn the basics of sword fighting, before moving on to Florence and then Venice, where they’ll learn about the history of the city’s carnival masks and have a go at making their own. There’s a good amount of free time, so families can do their own thing. The food is also child-friendly, with a pizza- making demonstration, gelato in Florence and a stop for spaghetti bolognese in its birthplace,
Bologna. Parents will savour the Trafalgar Be My Guest dining experience in a Tuscan villa. Book it: Trafalgar’s 10-day Gladiators, Gondolas and Gold tour starts at £3,650 for a family of four, excluding flights.
trafalgar.com
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ANIMAL MAGIC Budding Dr Dolittles ahoy – Tauck’s new South Africa: Epic Family
Adventure will bring them face to face with all sorts of exciting creatures. They’ll walk with an elephant, meet a cheetah and even ride an ostrich – all in addition to traditional game drives from a safari lodge, a visit to see penguins at Boulders Beach and a whale and seal-watching cruise in Plettenberg Bay. Extra excitement comes in the form of a zip-line trip over the Kruis River and a cable- car ride up Table Mountain. They’ll learn about Nelson Mandela, take a bicycle tour of Soweto, have a go at tribal drumming and finish up with a traditional South Africa braai barbecue. Tauck recommends the trip for over-eights, but five is the minimum age permitted. The group size is limited to 34 guests. Book it: Tauck’s 10-day South Africa: Epic Family Adventure starts at £15,000 for a family of four, excluding flights but including transport, activities, 24 meals and guiding.
tauck.co.uk
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MOUNTAIN HIGH Reaching the summit of Africa’s highest peak is a worthy challenge for an
adult, so imagine the bragging rights it’ll give a teenager. Exodus is now offering a special family departure of its Kilimanjaro Climb using the Lemosho Route, with a minimum age of 13. This route starts at a lower altitude and climbs more slowly than some others, giving walkers time to acclimatise to the altitude – 96% of Exodus customers on this route reach the summit. Eight days of the trip are spent walking point-to-point, with an average distance of 4.4 miles covered each day. Full porterage is included, and accommodation consists of two nights in hotels and seven nights in three- man tents, with private toilet tents provided. Book it: Exodus’ Kilimanjaro Climb/Lemosho Route starts at £2,799 for adults and £2,519 for children, including
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